Baku, Tehran to cooperate in postal services
By Sara Rajabova
Azerbaijan and Iran are planning to cooperate in the sphere of postal services.
Iranian Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Mujtaba Hashemi has said recently that the two countries are drafting the documents on cooperation in the field of postal services.
He noted that at present, Azerbaijan and Iran are cooperating in various areas of the ICT sector, including satellite communications.
Earlier, Azerpost told Trend news agency that Azerbaijani and Iranian postal operators plan to sign an agreement on cooperation in the area of postal financial services and money transfers between the two countries by late 2014.
Iran's postal operator learned from the experience of Azerbaijan's postal operator in rendering the financial services to the population.
Azerbaijan and Iran are cooperating in the field of postal services as part of a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of Iran signed on March 10, 2009.
The memorandum envisages regular bilateral meetings. The sides agreed on offering postal services from Azerbaijan through Iran to Iraq and the Persian Gulf countries.
On the other hand, Azerbaijan and Iran will discuss the issue of transferring two customs checkpoints (CCI) of the two countries to non-stop operation.
Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen said the arrangement on transition of Bilasuvar border crossing customs point on the 24-hour operation was reached in August as part of the Azerbaijani-Iranian joint intergovernmental commission.
Pak Ayeen added that an Iranian delegation led by Head of the Customs Service of the country Massoud Karbasian will visit Azerbaijan on September 29. The delegation will hold talks with Head of the State Customs Committee (SCC) Aydin Aliyev, Minister of Economy and Industry Shahin Mustafayev, Minister of Emergency Situations Kamaladdin Heydarov and other Azerbaijani officials on September 30.
Iranian Ambassador said within the visit that will last till October 2, the sides will focus on solving customs issues between the parties, increasing the number of customs exemptions and organizing round the clock works of border checkpoints in Astara and Bilasuvar by providing them with the necessary equipment and personnel.
Azerbaijan and Iran have agreed to shortly sign a new agreement in the customs area. The last agreement in the customs sphere was signed in 2002.
Azerbaijan and Iran have had diplomatic relations since 1918. Iran recognized Azerbaijan's independence in 1991, and diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992.
Data from the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan shows that trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $281.03 million in 2013, which is 6.13 percent higher than 2012. The figure stood at $263.785 million in 2012.